The Reluctant Economist : Perspectives on Economics, Economic History, and Demography

Where is rapid economic growth taking us? Why has its spread throughout the world been so limited? What are the causes of the great twentieth century advance in life expectancy? Of the revolution in childbearing that is bringing fertility worldwide to near replacement levels? Have free markets been the source of human improvement? Economics provides a start on these questions, but only a start, argues economist Richard A. Easterlin. To answer them calls for merging economics with concepts and data from other social sciences, and with quantitative and qualitative history. Easterlin demonstrates this approach in seeking answers to these and other questions about world or American experience in the last two centuries, drawing on economics, demography, sociology, history, and psychology. The opening chapter gives an autobiographical account of the evolution of this approach, and why Easterlin is a 'reluctant economist'. "Where is rapid economic growth taking us? Why has its spread throughout the world been so limited? What are the causes of the great twentieth-century advance in life expectancy and of the revolution in childbearing that is bringing fertility worldwide to near replacement levels? Have free markets been the source of human improvement?" "Economics provides a start on these questions, but only a start, argues economist Richard A. Easterlin. To answer them calls for merging economics with concepts and data from other social sciences and with quantitative and qualitative history. Easterlin demonstrates this approach in seeking answers to these and other questions about world or American experience in the last two centuries, drawing on economics, demography, sociology, history, and psychology. The opening chapter gives an autobiographical account of the evolution of this approach, and why Easterlin is a "reluctant economist.""--Jacket

Drawing widely on social science and history, economist Richard Easterlin asks: Where is rapid economic growth taking us? Why has its spread throughout the world been so limited? What are the causes of the great twentieth century advances in life expectancy and the revolution in childbearing that has brought fertility worldwide to near-replacement levels? Finally, to what extent have free markets been the source of human improvement? The opening chapter demonstrates the evolution of Easterlin's unique approach, and why he is a "reluctant economist".

These revised essays analyze the revolution in the human condition that is sweeping the world. Easterlin asks if free markets are the key to human improvement, as today's policy-makers often assert. His responses employ a rich social science approach, blending economic theory, history, sociology, and psychology.

these Essays Explore The Nature Of Worldwide Economic Growth, Population, And Fertility Changes.